Prosper

How to spell prosper

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce prosper

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does prosper mean?

1. verbTo succeed, flourish, or do well, especially in money, health, or general fortune.

Prosper in a sentence

• Small businesses tend to prosper when interest rates stay low.

• The family hoped their new venture would prosper in the coming years.

Where does prosper come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin verb prosperare, meaning 'to make fortunate' or 'to cause to succeed', which was built on the adjective prosperus, 'favourable, doing well, fortunate'. The most widely accepted explanation traces prosperus back to the phrase pro spe, literally 'according to hope', where spes meant 'hope' or 'expectation'; the idea was that things turning out as one hoped is the very essence of thriving. English took the word in the fourteenth century by way of Old French prosperer, and it has kept its sense of flourishing ever since. The same spes root quietly survives in 'despair' (to be without hope) and in the name Esperanza, which simply means 'hope'. Because the spelling follows the Latin pattern faithfully, the main thing to remember is the single 's' and 'p' and the plain '-er' ending, with no doubling and no fancy vowels.

How the word is built

• pro- (according to)
• -sper- (from Latin spes: hope)
• -er (verb ending from Latin prosperare)